We are running this funding opportunity on the new UKRI Funding Service. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. We will publish full details on how to apply when the funding opportunity opens.
The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect co-coordinators to also contribute to the application.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
Watch our recording on how to apply for an opportunity in the Funding Service.
To apply:
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
- Confirm you are the project lead.
- Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org
- Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the ‘How to apply’ section on this Funding finder page.
- Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
- Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
- Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You should:
- use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words
- insert each new image onto a new line
- provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)
- ensure that files are smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
Deadline
We must receive your application by 16 April 2024 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time. Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
NERC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.
Publication of outcomes
NERC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity on What NERC has funded.
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Summary
Word count: 550
In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
- opinion-formers
- policymakers
- the public
- the wider research community
Guidance for writing a summary
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
- context
- the challenges the coordinator(s) will address
- aims and objectives
- potential outcomes and benefits
Core team
List the project lead, and if applicable the project co-lead, and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
Only list one individual as project lead.
The project lead is responsible for setting up and completing the application process on the Funding Service.
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Application questions
Vision
Word limit: 750
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your proposed work:
- is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
- has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
- is timely given current trends, context, and needs
- impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment
Within the Vision section we also expect you to include:
- the key aims and ambitions you hope to achieve as the NZ DRI coordinator, why it’s important and why you will succeed
- an initial vision for the network in four years’ time and beyond, including the intended outcomes (noting this will be further shaped by the community engagement and is subject to the network application being successful)
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Approach
Word limit: 750
How are you going to deliver your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:
- is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
- is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
- uses a clearly written and transparent methodology
- summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed
- will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
- describes how your research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work
Within the Approach section we also expect you to:
- outline how you will convene the interdisciplinary community to identify key challenges, barriers and opportunities for coordinated activity, including who you intend to involve (this may be in the form of a community engagement plan)
- outline how you will engage stakeholders across the whole of the UKRI remit, including the arts and humanities, biological, engineering, environmental, physical and social sciences
- outline how you will use your existing knowledge and understanding of the complexities and emerging issues related to DRI and net zero, and how you will build on this to identify and prioritise actions at a national level
- outline how you will build effective, long-term partnerships with the private sector and government, enabling you to both learn from and influence technology companies net zero strategies
- provide a detailed project plan including milestones and timelines in the form of a Gantt chart or similar
- include how much time you expect to commit to the role and how you will manage other existing commitments while undertaking it
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Applicant capability to deliver
Word limit: 1,500
How will your experience and track record enable you to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide evidence that you have:
- a track record of leading and managing complex interdisciplinary research and delivering demonstrable impact
- a track record of working inclusively across a broad range of disciplines, bringing together varied approaches and interest
- knowledge of the current UK DRI landscape and emerging issues related to net zero and an ability to take an all-inclusive, overarching view of the UK DRI landscape
- a profile within the research community for research excellence and the ability to act as a figurehead for the UK NZ DRI community
Guidance
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the ‘How to apply’ section.
The word limit for this section is 1,500 words: 1,000 words to be used for R4RI modules and 500 can be used for Additions.
Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your co-coordinator have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.
Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills you bring:
- contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
- the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
- contributions to the wider research and innovation community
- contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit
Additions
Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).
Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.
UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the Funding Service.
For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.
Coordinator role
Word limit: 1,000
What skills and abilities do you have that will enable you to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of the right skills and expertise, as per the person specification below, to enable you to convene the interdisciplinary community and lead the network if the subsequent application is successful. You should identify any gaps and explain how you will fulfill these aspects. You should give relevant examples where possible.
Person specification
Thought leadership
You must demonstrate:
- an ability to assemble key information across disciplines to build a compelling narrative and communicate this, effectively, to the right stakeholders at the right time
Inspirational team leader
You must demonstrate:
- an ability to guide and inspire others and to identify and maximise potential in others
- experience of leading and managing successful interdisciplinary programmes or projects that resulted in delivering impact at a national or international level
Strategic thinker
You should:
- be a strategic thinker who is focused on ensuring the interdisciplinary research achieves maximum impact, and has considered the pathways to achieve this impact
- demonstrate an aptitude for identifying, exploring and developing research opportunities more broadly and across different interfaces
- demonstrate where you have positioned yourself to take-up opportunities and have the ability to make decisions to deliver your vision
Communication and engagement skills
You must demonstrate:
- excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- an ability to implement comprehensive stakeholder mapping to identify key audiences and develop strategies for inclusive engagement
- skills for effective knowledge exchange, or the ability to facilitate others to carry out these tasks across the interdisciplinary community and private sector
Partnership management skills
You must demonstrate:
- you are able to foster effective, long-term partnerships with the private sector, government and DRI users, including establishing and maintain relationships with relevant private sector colleagues and policy makers. You should demonstrate you are able to develop and take forwards a shared vision, determine clear roles and responsibilities and maintain partnerships in the long-term
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the ‘How to apply’ section.
Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
Word limit: 500
What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:
- the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
- how you will manage these considerations
- consideration for preventing environmental harm and enhancing environmental benefit in line with NERC’s responsible business statement
If you are collecting or using data, identify:
- any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing or storing the data including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and, in particular, strategies to not preclude further reuse of data
- formal information standards with which your study will comply
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 1,000
What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Justify the resources requested, which can include:
- coordinator(s) time
- networking activities
- workshops
- administrative support
Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want to be assured that:
- all resources are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
- the project will make optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
- maximise potential outcomes and impacts
References
Word limit: 1,000
List the references you have used to support your application.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Include all references in this section, not in the rest of the application questions.
You should not include any other information in this section.
We advise you not to include hyperlinks, as assessors are not obliged to access the information they lead to or consider it in their assessment of your application.
If linking to web resources, to maintain the information’s integrity, include persistent identifiers (such as digital object identifiers) where possible.
You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.
